Annotation:Take Me Jenny

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X:1 T:Take me Jenny M:2/4 L:1/8 B:Thompson’s Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 3 (London, 1773) Z:Transcribed and edited by Fynn Titford-Mock, 2007 Z:abc’s:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G B2 AG|ABcA|B2 AG|e A2d|B2 cd|efgd|e2 Ad|BG G2:| |:d>edg|e>=feg|d>e {d}dc/B/|B3 A|d>edg|e>=feg|d>e {d}dc/B/|B3 A| d>c B2|e>d c2|g2 d=f|ec c2|B>c d2|e>fga|b(gg)d|eg g2:||

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TAKE ME JENNY. AKA - "Take me Jenny let me win you while I’m in the humour." English, Air and Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Take Me Jenny" is a country dance adaptation of a popular 18th century slip-song, printed on numerous song sheets and in songsters. It can be found, for example in the 1768 song collection entitled New Favourite Songs as sung by Mrs. Arne at Ranelagh House, Master Brown and Mr. Phippps at Marybone Gardens, composed by Dr. Arne[1]. wikipedia:Thomas_Arne (1710-1778) is best remembered for his patriotic song "Rule Britannia" and "Hunting We Will Go (A)". He was a prolific composer of songs and music for the London theatre of the period, as well as for entertainments at London pleasure gardens, and also composed operatic music, concertos, sinfonias, and sonatas. The first stanza and chorus of his "Take Me Jenny" goes:

Sweetest of pretty maids, let Cupid incline thee.
T'accept of a faithful heart which now I resign thee;
Scorning all selfish ends regardless of money,
It yields only to the girl whose gen'rous and bonny.

Take me Jenny let me win you while I'm in the humour,
I implore you, I adore you, what can mortal do more?
Kiss upon't, kiss upon't, turn not so shyly;
There's my hand, there's my hand, 'twill never beguile thee.

It is somewhat curious that the 1768 volume advertises that the song was sung by 'Mrs. Arne at Ranelagh House'. Thomas married in 1737 a singer, wikipedia:Cecilia_Young (1712-1789), one of the greatest English sopranos of the eighteenth century. The marriage lasted some twenty years, however, in 1755 Arne removed to Dublin to work and separated from Cecilia, whom he alleged was mentally ill. He took up with one of his pupils, Charlotte Brent, a soprano and former child prodigy, who performed in several of Arne's operas in the early 1760's; in the middle of the decade, however, the relationship soured, and Charlotte moved on, marrying a violinist named Thomas Pinto in 1766. Arne reconciled with Cecilia near the end of his life, in 1777. Cecilia did suffer from health problems that impeded her career, and, by the mid-1740's she had a much reduced schedule of performing, eventually ceasing to perform in public in the early 1750's.

The country dance version was first published by Charles and Samuel Thompson in their Compleat Collection, vol. 3 (London, 1773), followed by printings in Straight and Skillern’s Two Hundred and Four Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1 (London, 1775), and Skillern’s Compleat Collection of Two Hundred and Four Reels…Country Dances (London, 1780). It is one of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance tune manuscript, and appears in the music copybook of American fiddlers John and William Pitt Thompson (1788, Norwich, Conn.) and in John Greenwood’s commonplace book (1785).

There is a report that "Take me now while I'm in humour" is another name for "Tow Row Row Johnny Take Me Now," but Arne's song does not correspond to any tunes of that title yet in this index.

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